CHINESE WATER DRAGON (Physignathius cocinus)
The Chinese Water Dragon is a reptile as well as a lizard. Chinese Water Dragons are native to the mainland in Southeast Asia. Their names are Thai Water Dragon, Asian Water Dragon, Green Water Dragon, and, of course, Chinese Water Dragon. They’re very playful and can run on their hind legs.
Males grow up to 3 feet in length while females generally only grow up to 2 feet. About 70% of the length is the tail, about 12% of the length is the head and neck, and about 18% of the length is the body (between the neck and tail). The dragons usually live somewhere in-between 10 and 20 years.
These reptiles are carnivorous and insectivorous. At zoos, they are fed crickets and cockroaches. In the wild, they eat all of the things listed in this paragraph, plus baby chicks and other insects and animals.
As pets, they are fed crickets, mealworms, small mice, earthworms, and king worms. They are also fed greens such as lettuce and cabbage.
The Chinese Water Dragon usually has brown eyes and is mainly green with turquoise stripes on their sides and brown stripes on there tails. Their bellies are white and they have beautiful chins (normally purple and white or blue and white). The males have an orange patch in each front armpit and when fully grown, have spikes on their backs.
There’s a very small, 1 to 2 millimeter, shiny, round spot at the top of the head, between the eyes. This is known as the pineal body or 3rd eye. The 3rd eye is thought to help many reptiles, including the Chinese Water Dragon thermoregulate, or sense differences in light. For example, it might help them decide on a good basking spot, or might help them sense that light levels are lowering. They would then know that they would have to find shelter for the night.
Chinese Water Dragons are reptiles that are native to Southeast Asia. They have many names. Males are longer than females with most of the length being the tail. They live on average 10-20 years. The lizards are carnivorous and insectivorous, and they eat a variety of foods. They’re very colorful, especially on their chins, and are thought to have a 3rd eye to thermoregulate, or sense differences in light.